Ancestral Gaps
by Ziggy05
Summary: The lions. The panthers. The cheetahs. The tigers. The forest cat's ancient ancestors. How did they disappear from the forest? How did the forest cats come to live there? Well, the history is darker then most people would like to think, and some stories are better left untold...Rated T to be safe.
1. Characters

**Panthers Keep:**

**Night (warrior, tom)**

_A panther with a pitch black pelt, burly build and grey eyes._

**Pandora (healer, she-cat)**

_Typical black, glossy pelt. Unusual ice blue eyes and a slice through one ear. _

**Smudge (deputy, tom)**

_Black pelt with dark grey smudges and vivid, sparkly green eyes._

**Squeak (apprentice, tom)**

_An unsually tiny kit-sized apprentice with the head and body of a wild cat but the colours of a panther. _

**Ink (apprentice, she-cat)**

_Dark grey. Has a single, giant smear-like black patch on her flank. _

**Maise (hunter, she-cat)**

_Has leapord-like swirls patterned on her head. Other then this feature, reminiscent of any other panther. _

**Jerra (hunter, she-cat)**

_A she-cat with a slim build and elegant gait, pale yellow eyes and a long tail._

**Shadow (leader, tom)**

_The strongest panther in the keep. Extremely burly build, black, kempt but rough fur and pale yellow eyes. Missing eye._

**Lions Pride:**

**Cougar (warrior, tom)**

_A sandy coloured, maneless cat with a white muzzle and strong build._

**Dune (warrior, tom)**

_Light orange pelt and brown, thin mane._

**Mandarine (queen, she-cat)**

_A dark brown lion with orange stripes and a pale orange mane, copper eyes and a sandy tail. _

**Sandy (kit, she-cat)**

_Kit version of Mandarine without the mane and golden eyes._

**Donna (warrior, she-cat)**

_Slim, sandy pelt with white underbelly, fierce copper eyes and a longer tail then most cats._

**Rust (healer, she-cat)**

_Red pelt, gold eyes and a white muzzle and socks._

**Dust (deputy, tom)**

_Dusty golden pelt and pale yellow mane and eyes._

**Thunder (leader, tom)**

_Golden pelt, golden, brown tinted mane and blue eyes._

**Tigers Camp:**

**Stripe (apprentice, tom)**

_As his name implies, he is your typical tiger. He has a lot more stripes then any other tiger in the camp._

**Flex (warrior, tom)**

_Strong build, long orange coat and jagged stripes._

**Reesa (warrior, she-cat)**_  
_

_Fierce, vivid yellow eyes, copper orange pelt and average thick black stripes._

**Shred (elder, tom)**

_Strong. Long, partially unkempt orange fur and rough appearance. Battle scarred._

**Petal (healer, shecat)**

_Siberian tiger with gentle lime eyes, faded grey stripes and long whiskers._

**Pounce (apprentice, tom)**

_Light brown fur with darker brown stripes. Eagle yellow eyes._

**Fennec (warrior, tom_)_**

_Long, fennec fox ears, brown pelt, darker brown stripes and sharp teeth._

**Ice (deputy, tom)**

_He is a siberian tiger with ice blue eyes._

**Sabre (leader, tom)**

_Terrifying, deformed face. Long, sabre teeth that come down over his mouth. A torn ear, a missing eye and a smashed in noise._

**Shimmering (leaders mate, she-cat)**

_An albino._

**Cheetahs Hold:_  
_**

**Dapple (warrior, she cat)**

_Grey fur, darker grey spots._

**Darkin (warrior, tom)**

_Married to Nekrah. Dark brown pelt with darker brown spots._

**Nekrah (queen, she-cat)**

_White with black spots. A little plump from pregnancy._

**Spaniel (kit, tom)**

_Sandy coloured fur with brown spots. Golden eyes. _

**Mariza (kit, she-cat)**

_Spitting image of her mother Nekrah except with faded grey spots._

**Branah (elder, tom)**

_Dirty, unkempt pelt, blind and white with black spots._

**_Skye (healer, she-cat)_**

_Vivid yellow pelt and golden eyes with rich black spots._

**Ernja (deputy, she-cat) **

_Unusual appearance. Black with white spots. _

**Wind (leader, tom)**

_Pretty small for a leader, but very tough. poofy, spiky snow white fur and velvety black spots. Violet eyes. _


	2. Prologue

"Panthers! Attack!" The battle cry sounded over the sound of yowling cats.

"Shadow! What is your meaning for this?" Thunder growled. The Lion Pride's leader was surrounded by a cloud of hissing, writhing cats.

"You know very well what the meaning is!" He snarled and raised his hackles.

"No! You are doing this in cold blood!"

"Am I really?" Thunder grit his teeth. "Prey stealer!" Shadow hissed through the crowds of caterwauling felines.

The golden lion shook his head. His eyes were slits and his hackles were now fully raised. He was writhing in fury. "How DARE you accuse US of stealing your prey! We've discovered a considerable lack of falcons on OUR edge of the border!"

"Even if my cats HAD been stealing your falcons," he said. "Which they haven't, your smelly, lazy ground kitties don't hunt them anyway."

"Well maybe if you even KEPT two paws on the ground you'd have some idea." Mist threw back.

"Attack!"

"Attack!"

At the sound of their leader's cries, cats from both sides leapt from their spots with outstretched claws. Dust fell him claws tear through panther flesh. It made a nice sound, like velcro. There was a hiss and he whipped around to face his opponent. It was Night, the grey eyed warrior from the Keep. "What'd your mummy say if you came home with two missing eyes?" The Lion Deputy grinned. "She'd probably say it was an improvement."

Night released a battle cry and lunged for the deputy's shoulder. Dust pulled his shoulder back and the panther fell short, smacking his jaw on a rock. "Ooouch... Thats gonna hurt. You gonna run kitty?"

"Hardly," Night sneered. A thin line of blood ran from his bottom lip to his chin. "I have more then enough fight left in me. I was just getting warmed up."

"Funny that. So was I!"

The two cats leapt spontaneously, colliding in mid-air. Dust let out a yelp as Night's fangs found his leg and twisted it, tearing flesh as Dust pummelled him backwards with his hind legs and pushed him away. Night cried out as he was winded and fell to the ground. Dust landed on his feet and walked over to Night, glowering. He rested one paw on his limp body to stop him moving and dug his claws in. "Run," he growled. "Now." Night let out a small moan at the pain and slipped under his paw, limping for the forest behind him.

He stopped for a moment and looked around the battle field. The smell of blood was everywhere and from what he could see every cat was preoccupied. Above the wails and shrieks of pain, however he could just make out a strangled gurgle. Thunder! He charged towards the noise. The she-cat Maise had his leader in a throat hold. Her paws were crushing down on his diaphragm and her claws were dug into the ground. "Heheheh... You picked the wrong battle bug-brain." She laughed. She had not seen Dust. He could catch her by surprise.

He went into a crouching position and moved closer and closer. It was like hunting a goat, only easier. He sprung, grabbed Maise's rump in two paws and sliced her exposed back open. Maise yowled in Surprise and turned her head. She hissed when she saw Dust and she swiped at him with one paw while holding Thunder with the other. "Let him go!" Dust snarled. He dug his claws deeper into her hips. Maise bit her lip and shook her head. She pushed down on his leader's throat even harder to show that she meant business. "Don't you dare!" He cried.

"Let go of me, or HE gets it." She rested her long claws to Thunder's throat. Dust growled. He wished there was something he could do but he saw his leaders look of dissaproval and softened his grip.

This battle was over before it started, he thought to himself as he ran into the crowd of cats. He wondered what Shadow would want as his prize. Probably freshkill, he thought. He snarled. Shadow was such a liar. Dust bet that he had made that prey thing up just so he had an excuse to fight. Yet, either way it was clear that they had been defeated.


	3. Chapter 1

Rust bolted up to the thorn wall. She could hear her mates meowing outside. "Oh... my... What happened? Is any cat hurt?" Cougar was using Dust as a support for his seemingly broken paw and Thunder was coughing up blood, but she sighed as she realised other then that no lion was hurt.

"W-we were... outnumbered greatly." He explained. "There were only five of us against an entire clan."

Rust counted the cats off on her paws. There was Sandy, the kit, Mandarine, the queen and herself. She looked at Thunder with concern. "Come with me. We should get you cleaned up. I have some coltsfoot for that cough. Cougar, Dust, you too."

She forced Thunder to lie down once they were in the den and sent Dust away to fetch some water. She helped Cougar to the ground and then got a small bundle of herbs. Cougar smiled weakly. "What are they?"

Rust pushed him back down as he began to sit up. "_These _are what'll make your leg better. Now chew these- and no talking!"

"Aren't you going to chew them?" Protested Cougar. He sighed and began to chew the bitter root. He made a face. "It tastes gross," he mumbled with his mouth full. "And this is your job."

Rust closed her eyes. "Yes, but its YOUR wound. When you think you've finished chewing that, spit it out and smear it on your wounds."

Cougar nodded and finished mincing the root. He spat the green pulp out and rubbed it onto his leg and cuts.

"Thanks." He said.

Rust walked over to Thunder. "Dust should be back soon, but in the mean time, eat these."

Thunder looked at the coltsfoot leaves in surprise. "These are what you use to treat sores and external wounds, right? Thats not going to help my throat. That blasted Maise pretty much flattened my neck." He rasped.

Rust closed her eyes. "I'm the she-cat here. Not you. Besides, its the juice in the roots you want, not the smearing pulp." Thunder took the leaves and chewed them slowly and suspiciously.

A few minutes later, Dust arrived at the entrance. Rust ran over to him. "There you are!" She said. "You took long enough."

Dust shrugged. "Sorry. But here, I got the water you wanted."

He carefully passed a leaf full of water to Rust, who took it and gave it to Thunder, carefully tipping it down his throat. The Pride leader made a rasping sound. "Thats much better." He mumbled. "Can I go now?"

"Don't worry about your clan. They'll be fine for a day or so, but your far from better. That cat messed your throat up really badly. Try to get some sleep and I'll make sure you get freshkill and water every few hours." Rust told him.

Thunder almost growled at the healer but stopped himself just in time. "Fine," he spat. "But these herbs had better help."

"They will." Rust reassured him. "In the meantime, I'll get you a vole. Try and eat it- you need to keep your appetite up no matter how sore your throat gets."

"What if it gets infected?" Thunder suddenly sounded worried.

A purr erupted from Rust's throat. "Don't worry. I'll give you herbs to eat with your prey. They'll decrease the risk of getting an infected throat."

Thunder nodded. "But... I'm not particularly hungry."

"Don't be a wuss. If you stomached getting that injury you can stomache the feeling of prey slipping down your throat. Or would you rather die slowly of starvation?" Rust purred.

Thunder's eyes widened at Rust's audacity. "Ok then." He murmured. "I'm not a wuss..." He muttered quietly. "Ridiculous cat..."

Rust pretended not to hear as she rounded up some more herbs. She skipped outside quickly and got him a large rabbit from the freshkill heap. Thunder's eyes widened as she dropped the colossal thing before him. "Come on." Rust barked. "Eat up."

Thunder prodded it distastefully. "I'm REALLY not hungry." He repeated.

Rust raised an eyebrow. "Come on. You only prove to strengthen my point..."

Thunder growled softly and sunk his fangs into the juicy prey. It was a good catch, he thought to himself. He had to praise the lion who had caught it. Within minutes he had devoured the entire thing. He hadn't wanted to, of course. It hurt his throat greatly. Rust had persisted though.

"Alright." Thunder smirked. He felt like he was a kit being scolded by his mother. "Now get some sleep. That should replenish you a lot."

"Your not going to leave me alone are you?" Thunder grinned.

Rust smiled back. "Come on. I thought you were braver then that." She left the medicine den. Her actual sleeping quarters was across the other side of the camp. This was so she didn't get contaminated while tending to the sick. She walked into her reasonably sized cave between the nursery and the warriors den, curled up in the nest provided for her and went to sleep.

Rust was woken up by the first rays of dawn sleeping through the entrance. She blinked her eyes groggily and stretched. "I suppose I should check on the cats huh..." She wished she could go back to sleep.

She half-heartedly trudged across the camp again. She realised that she was the first cat up. That surprised her. She entered her medicine den. Even Thunder and Cougar were asleep. She groaned and prodded them both with a paw. "Come on, sleepy heads. Did you sleep well?"

Thunder rolled over and slowly opened his eyes. He shook his head. "No thanks to you." Mumbled Cougar. "What time is it? Five in the morning?"

Rust ignored him. "How are you doing today Thunder?" She asked.

"Good."

"Does it hurt if I press here?" She pushed the swollen spot above Thunder's jugular. He squeaked like a kit. "I'll take that as a yes. Ok then," Rust sighed. "Get some more sleep. I'll tend to your throat when you wake up."

Thunder rose persistently. "No really. I'm fine."

Rust frowned. "No. You aren't. Get some more sleep. NOW."

Thunder hissed and unsheathed his claws. He had to dig them into the ground to keep himself from sinking them into the fragile medicine cat's flesh. "Yes, Rust." He spat. He lay down but stayed awake.

Rust sighed and turned to Cougar. "How about you? Are you any better off?" She looked at the sandy tom's crooked, bleeding leg. "I guess not." She mumbled.

"Well. I thought medicine cats were supposed to be nice."

Rust looked up. Donna, the white bellied lioness was there. "Hey. I don't get cats healed by being nice to them. If I was NICE Thunder here would probably be outside ruining his vocal cords even more."

Donna look at Rust innocently. "Don't give me that look. I just came in to see Cougar. Honest."

Rust purred. "Sure."

Donna stuck her tongue out at Rust and walked over to Rust. Him and Donna pretended it was a secret but it was obvious that the entire clan knew that they liked one another. "Why don't you just ask him to be your husband already?" Rust grinned.

Donna swatted her with a paw. "Hey!" She snapped. "We are just friends. Now." She smiled as well.

Rust snorted and began to sort out the herbs that she thought she would need when Thunder woke up again.

"Hey there." Donna said.

Cougar looked up. He beamed when he saw who it was. "Donna!"

"Who else?" Donna purred.

Cougar shrugged. "I dunno. I thought you might be Rust talking to herself."

Donna's eyes widened. "Really? She does that?"

Rust's shoulders tensed at the back of the room. "Hey. I heard that."

Cougar sniggered. "So anyway. Whats up?" He asked Donna.

"Nothing much."

"Come on, you must of done something in the time I've been away." Cougar persisted.

Donna batted at him gently with a paw. "Hey! It's only been one day!"

Cougar gave Donna a lick across the forehead. "Your the kind of cat I know who can have more adventure in a few hours then some cats get in a lifetime."

Rust chuckled. She blocked the purr-machines out from her work and finished gathering herbs. She shook Thunder. "Okay. Come on sleepy-head."

Thunder's eyes flashed when he saw Rust standing over him. He rolled his eyes. "What?" He groaned.

"You can go back to sleep after I've given you these herbs. Gosh, with how much you like sleeping its quite frankly a miracle that you ever get any work done for your clan." Rust said.

Thunder grit his teeth. "Give those to me." He snatched a bundle of colts-foot and began chewing it defiantly.

Rust rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. Ignore the medicine cat. Are you guys okay by yourself for a while? I need to go out and gather more herbs." She told them. With tree bare approaching she had store for the cats who got green nose and red nose, and the two cats she was tending to right now quickly drained coltsfoot from her supplies.

No cat answered her. "I'll take that as a yes. But if you look up and realise that I'm gone, don't say I didn't tell you anything." The end of her tail swished through into the clan. She noted how it was getting chilly already. She crossed over to the forest and took in the familiar scents.

She had gone a far way in when she noticed a clove of wild garlic. A few dandelions surrounded it and a crop of mint sat just a little way off. She raised her eye brows and began to harvest the crops. Something thumped half way through gathering the herbs. Rust spun around, a little bit frightened. She frowned when no cat was there, but she guessed it was just one of her clanmates playing a trick on her. All the same, she hurried through the rest of the clump and bolted back to camp.

She decided not to tell Thunder about the thump. It had probably been nothing. Donna had gone when she got back and Cougar and Thunder were asleep. She glanced up at the settling sky in surprise. It was already sunset. She must have spent a while looking for herbs. She yawned and began to sort the herbs and then she trudged back down the camp to her nest and went to sleep.


End file.
